


A Pleasurable Interlude

by afteriwake



Category: House M.D.
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-20
Updated: 2012-09-20
Packaged: 2017-11-14 15:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/516909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just once, she'd lived on the wild side. Then she fled from him and Princeton-Plainsboro. When she sees him again, is she willing to give him another chance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pleasurable Interlude

In Chase's mind, it had all started with one long, rambling comment from Cameron about how the human race would have died out if sex hadn't been enjoyable. Never mind that there was a patient that was alternating between getting well and getting deathly sick, that single rambling comment had stuck with him.

Even after the two of them had had sex, which was more then enjoyable in his opinion, and the inevitable screeching of the brakes on whatever might have happened, his mind would still wander back to that day in the office and a smile would linger on his face for just a moment or two.

But that was all. He really harbored no fantasies, nor even realistic hopes, that there would ever be a real relationship between the two of them. So he remembered the single interlude between them and left it at that.

\---

Cameron had found it rather hard to forget one monumentally stupid decision she had made in the heat of the moment, a moment brought on by the same mind-altering drugs she knew damn well were to be avoided.

Not that she had a million regrets; no, she only had one or two. But in all, she decided, those two regrets were pretty big ones, and they added up to a very, very stupid decision.

The first was that she felt, at least to herself, that she had blown any chance she may ever have had with House. Ever. His comment the day after seemed to be filled with a sort of disdain. Not that she'd let it bother her much at the time; she was more intently focused on Chase's reaction and on keeping her own rather non-committal.

The second, however, was the one she really hated. And it was even stupider when you looked at the fact that she was waiting for the results of an HIV test: they hadn't used protection.

None at all.

So she spent the rest of the month like a woman on the verge of having a meltdown until she finally started her period. And then she sobbed like a baby with relief. This, of course, she did in the privacy of her own home...having someone walk in on her would have been more humiliating then she could imagine.

Now that the panic was gone, however, she did have to admit that it was a good encounter. Much more then just a pleasant interlude. But that was all it was ever going to be, if she had her way: on single, solitary night of amazing sex.

After all, she had to work with Chase every day.

**\---  
ONE YEAR LATER  
\---**

It was different now that she was gone.

No one really knew what had led for Cameron to take a position at another nearby hospital. Nothing had gone on either in or out of the office that would scare her off, or even make it uncomfortable for her to be there.

At least, that's what House and Foreman thought, and probably Wilson too.

Chase was wondering about that, though. She'd acted nervous for about a month after their encounter, then more relaxed but a bit anxious. Of course, being the gentlemen he supposed he was turning into, he said nothing, not to her nor to anyone else.

If for no other reason then as a concerned co-worker, he'd wanted to say something. But that one evening had erected an invisible brick wall between them in all things non-professional. So he stayed quiet and watched as things progressed, until it reached the inevitable conclusion that she left.

But there wasn't time to mope about it, even if he'd wanted to; no, House's reputation had grown and most of the local hospitals had been sending their undiagnosable cases over. They were busy. Too busy to really even notice the void left by her absence. Not until an invitation arrived for the head of their department.

"She's getting honored," he said in one of their daily meetings, completely out of the blue.

"Our patient? House, she can't even get out of bed," Foreman said.

"No. Cameron." He tossed the invitation he'd been holding on the table. "She's managed to do something you two weren't able to do."

"What?" Chase asked.

"Head up a department." He picked up the invitation again. "A specialty department, pediatric diagnostics. They're taking in all the pedes cases we aren't plus some. And there's a dinner. I hate dinners."

"So why are you telling us this?" Foreman asked.

"Because one of you is getting a tux, wearing it, and representing our hospital." He sat down. "I wouldn't go even if I could, but for once I have a legitimate excuse."

"And that is?" Chase asked.

"Conference. I hate those, too, but Cuddy's making me go." He eyed the two of them up and down. "Do either of you _have_ a tux?" Foreman shook his head, but Chase nodded. "Fine. Chase, you go. Foreman...don't kill many patients while we're gone."

Chase started to say something, maybe got a syllable out, and House turned on him. "Would you rather stay and help Foreman, or get dressed up, eat mediocre food and do something that would make...us look good?"

Chase wondered for a moment on what House had intended to say, but kept his mouth shut and just nodded again.

"Fine." House slid the invitation to Chase. "Don't screw things up."

\---

"You know, if you don't want to go, I _can_ rent a tux," Foreman told Chase later that day, after they left their newest patient in her room.

"No, I'll go."

"You just want to stick me with duty, don't you?" When Chase said nothing, Foreman took a few quick steps in front of and around Chase, stopping right in his path. "Or am I completely off the mark?"

Chase shrugged. "It's part of the job." He walked around Foreman, but not fast enough to escape hearing Foreman say "Sure" in a mildly sarcastic voice.

Instead of heading back to their offices, Chase went outside. It was a chilly day, but at the moment, he needed to think.

He wasn't in love with her; of that much, he was completely sure. That wasn't what was making the idea of seeing her again after ten months so hard. It was something else.

He had until the next evening to figure out what, and find a way of dealing with it.

\---

"I think black is best."

Cameron was barely paying attention as the two nurses on the pediatric ward ogled over formal dresses in a magazine until she realized one of them was thrusting the magazine at her.

"Oh?" She glanced down at the dress, a strapless number with a low backline. "Black's okay, I guess, but not that dress."

The nurse shook her head. "Not the strapless one." She pointed to one higher up on the page. " _That_ one."

Cameron's eyes moved upwards, falling on a lovely black dress with thin spaghetti straps. "Yeah, maybe. I like it, but..."

"It's your big night, Dr. Cameron. Live a little!" the other nurse said.

Live a little...

She hated that term, she really did. Ever since the HIV scare when she was working at Princeton-Plainsborough Teaching Hospital, and the stupidity that resulted in her drug experimentation and bout of wild sex with Chase, she decided that living a little was highly overrated.

In fact, the bravest thing she'd done since that night was leave Princeton-Plainsborough for this new job. She had pushed for the diagnostic department to have a specialty in pediatrics, and she'd gotten her way. At this job, she had a chance to rise up and show what she could really do without constant feelings of doubt rising up in her.

Feelings that were no doubt directly attributed to Dr. Gregory House. He had the type of personality that made any person around him feel like a child, and sometimes act accordingly.

In fact, he was the only person attending the dinner that she actually didn't want to see.

And to think, she thought to herself as she left the pediatrics ward and entered her office on the ground floor, she once had a crush on him. That was all it had boiled down to: a crush. Maybe not a simple one, like those she'd had as a young girl, but a crush nonetheless.

Almost as soon as she sat down, there was a knock on the door. "Dr. Cameron?"

Cameron looked up and saw one of the nurses, slightly out of breath. "Yes?"

"The big boss is here, and he wants to talk to you. Now."

Cameron sighed. Being a department head was not always the easiest job in the world, and this day was proving just that.

\---

It was almost four when she finally convinced her boss that if she was going to look at all presentable for this dinner they'd planned for her, she needed a dress. He'd looked shocked that she hadn't already gotten a dress until she pointed out the sick baby with severe complications had been consuming most of her time.

Not that she really minded; the baby was a sweet-tempered little girl named Amanda who wanted nothing more then to be held. Cameron didn't mind doing that while the girl's mother slept. It just meant that time that could be spent filling out the mountains of paperwork on her desk or sleeping was spent doing something else, something a little more fulfilling.

But this wasn't the time to think about it. This was the time to go buy a dress, get home eat something and get some sleep.

It didn't take long; the first store she went to didn't have anything she liked, but the second store had a dress almost like the one the nurses had pointed out earlier. They had been right; black was a good color.

About twenty minutes later, with her dress in it's bag and a new pair of heels to match, she left and went home.

She hated home these days. It was so cold, so empty. She had no time for friends, really, nor any interest in finding them. The people at the hospital were nice enough, but she was in charge of most of them, and there was a vibe that the upper echelons didn't mix with everyone else. Cameron didn't like that attitude, but it was either deal with it or go back to Princeton-Plainsborough Teaching Hospital.

She habitually checked her messages when she got home, mostly finding updates from the hospital or the rare message from a telemarketer. No calls from friends, nothing that showed she had a life outside of work.

"Hello, Cameron? This is Wilson."

 _That_ was a surprise. She put her dress down and moved closer to the machine. Wilson was the only one there other then Cuddy she'd kept in contact with, and even then he didn't call much.

"...House is going to a conference, so he won't be coming. I just thought I'd call and let you know."

Thank God for small favors, she thought to herself. She was about to press delete when Wilson continued.

"Chase is coming instead."

She barely heard Wilson continue his message, her mind reeling slightly. She'd been worried enough about House showing up, and that brief moment of exultation that she wasn't going to have to deal with him was replaced by a sort of fear now that she knew she'd be seeing Chase again after almost a year.

What if he was expecting something? Sure, he'd backed off about anything else happening between them. But now they weren't working together, now they were colleagues and not co-workers...

But why was she worrying, the rational part of her mind interjected. He hadn't tried to contact her in ten months. He hadn't cared; she'd figured that much out when he kept all conversations her last month at the hospital on a strictly professional level. It was a one-night stand, that was all.

Yeah, that was all. It wasn't going to happen again. Just one night, nothing more.

But a tiny voice in her head added a worried question to that thought.

That was it...right?

\---

Chase recalled his father saying something once that a tuxedo's neck only felt like a noose if you were the groom at a wedding.

Was he ever wrong.

No matter how much he fiddled with loosening the bow tie, it still felt tight. Finally, Cuddy had to bat his hand away as she straightened it for him again.

He'd simply stopped in to get the invitation, which he'd left at his desk that afternoon. Suddenly, every female in the vicinity of the diagnostics department, as well as Cuddy and Stacy, had shown up. He almost felt like they were trying to give him a rousing sendoff at his funeral. Of course, he said nothing to the women, he just smiled and graciously took their compliments, eager to get the hell out of there.

He'd managed to make it out of the office, almost out of the hospital, when Stacy called after him. He turned and watched her quickly walk towards him. She had an envelope in her hand.

"You forgot the invitation," she said.

If Chase didn't know better, he would have sworn a small blush crept up on his cheeks. He'd been so eager to get out of the circle of overly attentive women that he'd forgotten the very thing he'd come to get.

He nodded and took the invitation from Stacy...or at least he tried to. "Is something wrong, Chase?"

"No. Why?"

"You have the same look on your face that you did when you were trying to convince me you'd told someone that you'd pretty much purposely killed their sister. You're hiding something."

Damn her and her perceptiveness, Chase thought. But he wasn't about to tell her what was going on in his head either. If she thought he was lying or covering something up, he wasn't going to change that opinion one way or the other.

"No, I'm not." He made a show of checking his watch. "And I'm going to be late if I don't get going."

Stacy let go of the invitation and watched Chase hurry out into the cold night air, wondering momentarily just what was going on with him.

\---

This had to be the most boring dinner Cameron had ever attended. Not that she'd attended many, of course, but the amount of schmoozing and fake friendliness started to grate on her nerves. She'd rather be at the pediatric ward with her patients then be at this boring dinner, even if it _was_ in her honor.

She'd come alone, and she knew that had gotten a few whispers. And it wasn't as though there'd been a shortage of fellow doctors wanting to come with her; the chance to be around the influential people here was an opportunity most doctors would do anything for.

But Cameron already had what she wanted. She had her department. And while she knew that the people in this room had the power to take that away from her, she really wasn't all that fond of them. And as much as she brought attention to the hospital, she was pretty sure they weren't all that fond of her, either.

She heard two women near her giggle girlishly and point, and that broke her out of her reverie.

"Would you look at him? He's gorgeous."

"Oh my God, he's coming this way."

She turned around and found herself face to face with Chase. "Cameron," he said quietly. He took a step back. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," she said, with all the grace and dignity she had. She would not look flustered. She already knew he was coming so him finding her right away was not the least bit surprising.

He handed her an envelope. "A card. From Foreman, Wilson, Cuddy and Stacy."

She took the envelope and took the card out, smiling as she opened it. It was a touching gesture, reminding her that even if she didn't think she had friends, there were still a few people who she meant something to.

She took a closer look at the card. "You signed it, too."

"Only at the last minute," he said. "I didn't sign it when they did because I was going to be here tonight. Didn't think there was much point."

"Oh." She closed the card, put it back in the envelope and smiled. "Well, thank you."

"If Wilson got his way, there's probably going to be flowers on your desk tomorrow when you get to work," Chase said, smiling as well. The tension between them eased somewhat, as they both eagerly accepted the banal topic that presented itself in the same way a drowning man takes a flotation device.

"He always was someone who appreciated grand gestures."

"I think Stacy was in agreement with him, though. They were trying to convince Cuddy to pay for it when I went home this afternoon."

Cameron laughed a little. "How is everyone, really?"

"Busy," Chase said. "Even with your new department taking most of the pediatric cases, we still have our hands full. And with only three of us...four, if you count Wilson's help...we're rather swamped most of the time."

"So no one got hired to replace me?" Cameron asked, surprised.

"No one..no, you haven't been replaced." Chase swallowed, then glanced past Cameron's shoulder. "I suppose I should find my seat. It looks as though the speeches are about to start."

"Right." They stood there for a moment before Cameron moved to her left and Chase slipped by. His hand brushed her thigh momentarily, and Cameron was shocked to find that a part of her was very very glad he'd shown up that night.

\---

"And it's our pleasure to introduce one of Dr. Cameron's former colleagues at Princeton-Plainsborough Teaching Hospital, Dr. Robert Chase."

There was a smattering of respectful applause as Chase left his seat and approached the makeshift podium near Cameron's table. He smiled at the assembled mass and then looked at some notes he'd pulled out of his pocket on his way to the podium. Finally, he set the notes down.

"I had a speech written by one of the other people who knew Allison well when she was at Princeton-Plainsborough, Dr. Lisa Cuddy. And it was a nice speech. I may even give it to the guest of honor so that if asked, she can say how much she loved the speech and even have specifics to quote back."

Laughter rippled through the crowd, and even Cameron enjoyed a laugh at that. Chase relaxed a little and continued. "Dr. Allison Cameron is a great person, and that's the first thing you should know about her when you deal with her. You may not always like her, but you should always respect her. She's caring and in our profession, that's an asset."

He paused for a moment. A flicker of a smile at some thought that passed through his mind showed briefly on his face, a smile that said that he knew something the assorted audience did not know about Cameron. "There are a lot of people who take her presence for granted. I was one of them. And that was a mistake, because as both a doctor and a person, she should not be taken for granted. So congratulations, Allison, on getting what you wanted."

There was another round of applause and Chase headed towards Cameron's table. He set Cuddy's speech on the table in front of her and, before she could say anything, strode back to his own table.

Cameron didn't really listen to the next speech in her honor; instead, she read the speech Chase was supposed to have given. It was a lovely speech. But there was something to what Chase had said that made her think that maybe he wasn't as egotistical and shallow as she'd thought.

\---

As the evening wore down, plates of food were served and eaten. Pleasant conversation was made at the various tables. Multiple people came up to Cameron to congratulate her.

And when Cameron finally got a few moments to herself, she looked at the table where Chase had been.

He was gone.

She bit back a small surge of disappointment. She had really wanted to talk to him alone, find out what he had meant when he said he'd taken her presence for granted. She hadn't been hoping for a romantic declaration of love, just an explanation. And now she wasn't going to get even that.

"Allison?"

She looked back and saw one of her new co-workers, a Dr. David Richardson, approach. "Yes, David?"

"Your friends asked me to tell you that he had to leave early because he got paged. Something about one of his patients."

"Ah." She paused for a moment, then flashed a brilliant smile. "Thank you for letting me know."

"Not a problem."

She glanced at the coat draped on his arm. "Are you leaving too?"

"Call from the ward."

Alarm gripped Cameron. "Who's in trouble?"

"Amanda. She stopped breathing for a few minutes. The staff there thinks there may be some damage."

Even though David was the department's specialist for anything regarding that type of situation, Cameron wanted to be there as well. She looked around the room, saw no one else heading her way. 

"I'm coming, too."

David started to say something, but shook his head. "Okay."

\---

Days went by, days that were filled with the sick and the scared, the angry and the confused. Days that, to doctors such as Chase and Cameron, normal days.

But just because they were normal didn't mean that there weren't emotions attached to them.

Chase had an easier time. House came back, worked his brilliance and patients were saved. This isn't to say that the cases went smoothly; no, there were moments with one of the patients that even had House worried that the patient would die.

Cameron...she had it harder.

It turned out Amanda had suffered some minor complications due to the lack of oxygen to her brain. It was too much for even Cameron's group to handle, however, and Amanda needed to be transferred to a pediatric hospital to get the help and care she needed to thrive, not just to survive.

Cameron had been close to other patients and seen them leave her care before, but this one hit hard, harder then any other, and Cameron didn't know _why_. It wasn't as though Amanda had died; she was simply going to another hospital, under another doctor's care.

She didn't come in the day after Amanda left. She plead sickness, something a day's rest and some vitamin C would cure, but in reality she just slept. She called in again the next day, too. Instead of sleeping that day, she went through her entire apartment in a cleaning frenzy, stopping only when she came to Cuddy's speech.

She sat amidst the piles of books, clothing and assorted things she was debating whether to keep or give away, simply re-reading that speech. It made her feel better, yes, but she needed something more, something to make her feel _alive_ again, to make her feel wanted and needed again.

She set the note cards down, put everything back in it's proper place, and stripped off the dirty clothes she was wearing, tossing them on the floor in her room as she headed towards her shower. She needed to think for a moment, make sure that what she planned on doing was what she really wanted to do.

Most of all, she needed to clean herself up.

\---

It wasn't going to be like last time, Chase told himself as he headed towards Cameron's apartment. He just wanted to see how she was doing, that was all. He was concerned.

He hadn't been invited this time. He'd come on his own volition, considering that he'd heard from office gossip that she'd lost a patient recently, and had called in to work for the last two days. Cameron was always the type to take that sort of thing in a hard way.

He knocked on the door once. And then waited. As he raised his hand to knock a second time, the door swung open and Cameron gaped at him, wet hair flying slightly as she took a step back. "Chase."

"I heard you lost a patient."

And then, Cameron laughed. Chase sputtered slightly, a little angry at her for laughing in his face, but she moved aside so he could come in, shaking her head.

"Did you think...? No, she didn't die. She's went to a children's hospital in New York." She smiled at Chase and closed the door behind him. "How did you find out, anyway?"

"Well, office gossip. I heard you lost a patient and I assumed the patient had died."

"No, no. I mean, I was upset that she'd left...thought I hadn't been doing a good enough job. It's the first time a patient has left my department and not gone home." She shrugged slightly as she picked up a damp towel off her couch and continued to dry her hair. "I just...thought I wasn't a good doctor, that's all. Got a little depressed about it."

The she pointed to a familiar stack of note cards on the table by the couch. "And then I read the speech again. Cuddy had some nice things to say about me." Chase's slight scowl left his face, and he nodded. "And so did you. You know, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"What did you mean when you said you'd taken my presence for granted?"

He stilled. He hadn't really thought about what he'd said when eh gave that speech; he'd just said what felt best to say. He hadn't expected to be asked about it afterwards, especially days later. "I'm not sure, really." Then he shrugged. "I suppose things haven't been the same since you left. It's been different."

She nodded. "So, nothing more then that? Just...different?"

"What do you _want_ me to say, Cameron?"

"The truth. If that's the truth, then...that's the truth." She dropped the towel back onto the sofa. "I was going to call you. I mean, you and Foreman and Wilson, and maybe even Cuddy and Stacy. See if you all wanted to get drinks or something."

"Wilson and Foreman will probably say yes. Cuddy's got piles of paperwork to go through, and Stacy..." Chase stopped when he realized Cameron probably didn't know about Stacy & House getting back together. "Stacy's busy."

Cameron just nodded. "Well, let me get dressed. Can you call them? Have them meet us somewhere?" She pointed to the phone on her kitchen counter.

Chase nodded and headed towards the phone. He started to dial the familiar number but stopped and hung up. "When do you want them to meet us?" he asked, raising his voice a little to be sure she heard him in the bedroom.

"What?"

Apparently, he hadn't been loud enough. He moved closer to the bedroom. "I said, when do you want them to meet us?" He moved closer, catching a glimpse of Cameron's bare back and shoulder in the process.

Desire clenched at his gut as he heard her reply, "Fifteen, twenty minutes, I guess." She turned around, her arm crossed over her breasts, and saw him turn away hurriedly. "Chase?"

"Going to make the phone call."

"Why don't you wait on that?" She pulled on a shirt and went back to the main room.

"Why?" he asked, not exactly looking at her, but looking enough to tell she was dressed again.

"Look. Since the day after...you know. We hadn't talked about it since. And I ran away from the hospital and...didn't have a chance." She looked at him quizzically. "Are you attracted to me, Chase?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," he said quietly. "But you don't want a relationship with me, remember? You made that pretty clear."

"That was a year ago. Things...change." She didn't move closer, but she did look away, something Chase felt rather then saw.

"How so?"

"I'd be pretty stupid if I said I didn't find you attractive either. And I'd be lying, too." She took a deep breath. "The first time...the first time wasn't roses but it was crazy. I mean, it was crazy because it wasn't something I had ever expected to happen. And it was...it was..." She knew she was blushing,   
but if she didn't get this out _right this very minute_ , she wasn't sure she ever would. "It was good. Not perfect, but good."

"I can tell you haven't exactly pushed that memory to the back of your mind."

"Only if I want to get a good night's sleep."

Chase smiled slightly. "So. Where do we go now?"

Emboldened, this time without the influence of drugs, Cameron looked straight at him and simply said, "My room."

\---

She absently thought about the last time, about a year ago. It had been quiet then, too, to the point where all she really heard were the sounds of heavy breathing and beating hearts. The same thing happened this time, too, except her pulse wasn't racing as much as before.

Something about a second time, no matter how long between that time and the first time, brought some comforting familiarity. But this time, she wasn't the one taking the lead. Sure, she'd invited him to her room, but this time...

He moved in and covered her mouth with his, warm lips pressed against hers. She hadn't expected a kiss, to be honest, but she wasn't about to stop him. Point of fact, she was glad she couldn't do anything other then moan softly because she would probably start babbling out loud like she was babbling in her head.

He was glad she'd simply pulled on a T-shirt, because he didn't think he'd be able to deal with buttons right now. He was nervous, something he hadn't expected. He simply had to slide his hands under her shirt instead of fumbling around with buttons and possibly ruining a shirt.

She was having similar thoughts, except hers involved taking the damn shirts off.

She had an uncluttered walkway from the main room to her bedroom, so with only a minimum of awkward movements they made it to her room. In one piece, with various articles of clothing deposited at various points along the way: her shirt, his shirt, her bra...

They took some time in getting from her bedroom doorway to the actual bed, as Chase liked the feel of her chest against his and Cameron liked the feel of his mouth moving away from hers to the curve of her neck. Even though he wasn't stopping her from speaking, the sensations were leaving her speechless, not to mention breathless.

This isn't to say that this time was perfect, either, but it was a great deal more enjoyable for Cameron this time around, even without the influence of the Ecstasy’s altered sensitivity like there had bee last time. This time, she could actually enjoy the foreplay, the way he nibbled lightly on her earlobe, the way his hair felt between her fingers.

She was soft. He remembered that from last time, but feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers and his mouth was exciting, something that aroused him more then she probably imagined. This time he planned on exerting some control, taking things more slowly, making sure it was enjoyable and there wasn't a damn thing to really complain about afterwards.

She gasped a little when he lightly bit her neck, and he pulled back. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" 

"No...just..." She pulled him back to her, fitted her mouth to his, and ran her hands down his back, letting her nails scrape his skin just a little, feeling a little thrill at his involuntary shiver. Soon, she knew, it would be time to actually finish getting undressed and getting into bed, but for now, she was going to enjoy this while it lasted.

He reached between their warm bodies and went to undo the top of her jeans, only to find she hadn't finished fastening them when she came back out to where he had been. He unzipped them easily and pushed them down her hips, and then pulled back slightly to let her step out of them. He started to undo his own jeans, but she put her hand over his and did the task for him.

And then, without a word, they made it to the bed, and neither of them really did more thinking then necessary after that.

\---

He wasn't sure what was going to happen afterwards. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, period.

He looked over at her. She must have been up cleaning for a while, because she'd closed her eyes as soon as they were done and he'd rolled over next to her. He simply lay in her bed, naked next to her, and watched her.

He wanted her. Not just physically, though he was sure that give a little bit of time, he would probably be more then ready for another round. No, he missed her. Between the dinner and today, he'd thought long and hard about things, and had come to the realization that he missed her.

But he didn't know where to go from here.

"I'm not asleep, you know."

Chase smiled, raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"Yes, really." She opened up one eye and looked at him. "You're thinking."

"Yes."

"About?"

He took a deep breath. "What happened?"

"We had sex." Both eyes were open now, and Cameron pulled the sheet up higher to her chest. "You were here, remember?"

"I know. But..."

Cameron completely sat up now, pulling much of the sheet away from Chase. She looked at the length of him before replying. "You know, I was always the one everyone thought wouldn't do something like this. Have sex with no relationship. And now, I've done it twice."

Chase remained quiet, waiting to see where she was going with this.

"I have to admit, I rather like it. No strings, we're both free to do whatever we want..." 

Chase nodded. "There is that."

"You don't want that, though, do you?"

"No, not really."

It was Cameron's turn to remain silent. "What do you want?"

"A chance. I want this to be more then a pleasurable interlude, but I'm not going to push. I just want a chance."

"That's all? Just a chance?"

Chase nodded, sitting up himself, pulling some of the sheet back over him. "Yes."

Cameron looked directly into his eyes. "Where do we start?"

"How about an actual date?"

"When?"

"Tonight?"

Cameron thought about it. She hadn't been looking for a relationship in all this, just comfort and some physical satisfaction. But she had to admit, he was being reasonable. A chance wasn't a bad thing to give him, especially since her own mildly jumbled emotional state was inclined to ask the same thing of him.

"All right. Tonight." She moved closer to him, wrapped her hand around his neck, and kissed him softly but quickly. "But right now? I need another shower." She pulled the sheet off the bed, wrapping it around herself, leaving Chase naked on the bed. "And no, you can't join me."

His laughter followed her as she left the bedroom, a smile on her face. Maybe this would work out, maybe it wouldn’t. It wouldn't be perfect, that was for sure...but it would be better then being alone.


End file.
